Before the cold winter season claimed
its place in the Twin Cities area this year, six Native American high
school students from across the area were able to enjoy a memorable
experience.

On an October afternoon, participants
in the Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project and
their mentors connected with the elements on a canoe journey down the
Mississippi River.

The students were
armed with 35 mm film cameras and anticipation for whatever this
journey may have brought. Second year participant, Breanna Green
shared about her experience, “Being on the water is healing and so
calming.”

Participants and
mentors alike carefully moved along one of the largest rivers in the
world across the glistening sparkle of the reflection of the sunlight
with wonderment and curiosity. This incredible opportunity was the
perfect environment for connection to the natural world, the basis
for creative thought which is fertile ground for photographic
practice.

On Nov. 22, six Native American high
school students celebrated the completion of their participation in
the Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project at the
Minneapolis Photography Center. Rainey Rock (White Earth Ojibwe),
Sage Mills (Lakota), Breanna Green (Red Lake Ojibwe), Andrew
Fairbanks (White Earth Ojibwe), Lupe Thornhill (Red Lake Ojibwe) and
Elizabeth Santana (Hunkpapa Lakota) invited their families to their
very own gallery opening featuring their work. Hoka Hey drum group, a
collective of young Native men, recognized the students and families
with an honor song. Dozens of supporters from the Native arts
community came to support the young artists as well to share food,
stories and prayer for this project.

The word “Mazinaakizige” is an
Ojibwe word meaning, “the act of creating pictures.”
Mazinaakizige: American Indian Teen Photography Project launched a
pilot program three years ago in collaboration with the Minneapolis
Photo Center and the Minnesota Historical Society with sponsorship
from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

In the weeks since thousands of native
people and their allies converged on TCF Stadium to protest the
Washington NFL team’s offensive name, those involved in the
#NotYourMascot march and rally have continued the conversation with a
focus on maintaining momentum toward a name change.

“Five hundred and twenty-two years
of stereotypes is difficult to eradicate,” Robert DesJarlait, a Red
Lake elder, said. He carried the eagle staff to lead the People’s
March from the American Indian OIC to the stadium on the University
of Minnesota campus on Nov. 2 as an organizer for Save Our Manoomin.
“We need to use education as a means of dislodging decades of
stereotypes. [Washington owner Daniel] Snyder's team is just the
starting point. But it's the beginning of the process to eradicate
such imagery and restore pride and human dignity to Native people.”

Organizers of the march said while the
Washington team name is the most racially offensive, their battle to
end the use of native mascots in sport does not end there.

“We need to go after not just the
NFL, but the NHL and major-league baseball also,” Jason Elias, a
march organizer and member of AIM-Twin Cities said. “I think it's
too bad we missed an opportunity this last summer to protest the
All-Star game when it was here in Minneapolis. One thing I would like
to say is that I would like to give credit and thank Vernon
Bellecourt who is the founding father in the fight against Native
mascots. He truly deserves the credit.”

Elias plans to continue the battle by
focusing on schools and using anti-bullying policies to target those
who wear native mascot gear to school.

#NotYourMascot is a coalition of
grassroots organizations including Idle No More-Twin Cities, AIM-Twin
Cities, AIM Patrol of Minneapolis, United Urban Warrior Society, Idle
No More-Wisconsin, Protect Our Manoomin, Twin Cities Save the Kids,
Minnesota Two Spirit Society and several other organizations.

The march and rally for the
Minnesota-Washington football game, which drew a crowd of between
3,500 and 5,000 people from across North America who marched on the
stadium from several directions, was the largest so far to protest
the use of native mascots by sports teams. Organizers vowed to
protest at each of the remaining Washington football games this
season. On Nov. 23, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in San
Francisco before the San Francisco-Washington game.

Join us to celebrate the work of
pioneering Native American author Laura Waterman Wittstock and
photographer Dick Bancroft as well as The Circle's continued mission
to presenting the news from a Native American perspective.

8-9 a.m., All Nations Church, 1515 E.
23rd St., Minneapolis, MN. Doors open at 7:30 for coffee.
$35 suggested donation, to RSVP, call 612-722-3686 or email
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Dec. 9

Parents of Tradition Family Winter
Gathering

Families with children, ages birth to
five winters-old are invited! Learn how to reclaim tradition ways of
parenting. Learn more about using Indigenous language in your home.
Hosted by Minneapolis Indian Education Parents of Tradition Early
Childhood Education Program. Lunch will be provided and children are
welcome!

12:30 to 2:30 p.m., Division of Indian
Work, 1001 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN. Call to reserve your
space for lunch. Transportation is available upon request, call Jean
at 612-290-9936.

Twin Cities Native Lacrosse
Organization is hosting a community feast and information meeting
about our new boys and girls lacrosse teams. Children and parents are
invited to eat and learn about playing lacrosse on a youth team.
Players do not need to have any experience playing lacrosse before.
Practices are after school and run from January through the spring.

In its 30
year quest to influence teams to change their names, mascots and
logos from those that are offense to Native Americans, the National
Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media is making strides.
Thousands of high schools and colleges across the country have felt
the pressure and given up names which encourage stereotyping of
indigenous people.

NCARSM,
which is based in Minneapolis, still has work to do before the
thousands of offensive team names still in use are relegated to the
annals of history. The organization’s current strategy is to go
after the National Football League's Washington team, a nationally
prominent team whose name is a racial slur and whose tradition of
mocking Native American people is seen as particularly vile.

“We
believe that when the Washington team changes, everyone else will
follow,” NCARSM board member Clyde Bellecourt said. He also said
the Washington team has a tradition of upholding institutional racism
that goes far beyond the current disagreement over its name. The team
was last in the National Football League to allow – in October of
1961 – non-white players on its roster, a move that prompted their
former supporters, the American Nazi Party, to protest outside RFK
Stadium.

But as
NCARSM focused its efforts on organizing a major rally against the
Washington team (who play the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium
on the campus of the University of Minnesota Nov. 2) one of its board
members, the organization alleges, Alan Yelsey – without the
knowledge or blessing of others within the organization – was
mailing threatening letters to schools with disparaging team names.
Yelsey and NCARSM have since parted ways.

Copyright 2008 The Circle News. All rights reserved. The Circle New is dedicated to presenting news from a Native American perspective, while granting an equal opportunity to community voices. Editorials and articles are the sole responsibility of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion, attitude, or philosophy of The Circle or the corporation. The Circle does not endorse any product or service accepted as advertising. The Circle reserves the right to reject any advertising, material, or letters submitted for publication. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHER.West7th**